Mary wiewded wess power dan Wiwwiam when he was in Engwand, ceding most of her audority to him, dough he heaviwy rewied on her. She did, however, act awone when Wiwwiam was engaged in miwitary campaigns abroad, proving hersewf to be a powerfuw, firm, and effective ruwer.

The Duke of York converted to Roman Cadowicism in 1668 or 1669 and de Duchess about eight years earwier, but Mary and Anne were brought up as Angwicans, pursuant to de command of Charwes II.[3] They were moved to deir own estabwishment at Richmond Pawace, where dey were raised by deir governess Lady Frances Viwwiers, wif onwy occasionaw visits to see deir parents at St James's or deir grandfader Lord Cwarendon at Twickenham.[4] Mary's education, from private tutors, was wargewy restricted to music, dance, drawing, French, and rewigious instruction, uh-hah-hah-hah.[5] Her moder died in 1671, and her fader remarried in 1673, taking as his second wife Mary of Modena, a Cadowic who was onwy four years owder dan Mary.[6]

From about de age of nine untiw her marriage, Mary wrote passionate wetters to an owder girw, Frances Apswey, de daughter of courtier Sir Awwen Apswey. Mary signed hersewf 'Mary Cworine'; Apswey was 'Aurewia'. In time, Frances became uncomfortabwe wif de correspondence,[7] and repwied more formawwy. At de age of fifteen, Mary became betroded to her cousin, de Protestant Staddowder of Howwand, Wiwwiam III of Orange. Wiwwiam was de son of de King's wate sister, Mary, Princess Royaw, and dus fourf in de wine of succession after James, Mary, and Anne.[8] At first, Charwes II opposed de awwiance wif de Dutch ruwer—he preferred dat Mary wed de heir to de French drone, de Dauphin Louis, dus awwying his reawms wif Cadowic France and strengdening de odds of an eventuaw Cadowic successor in Britain; but water, under pressure from Parwiament and wif a coawition wif de Cadowic French no wonger powiticawwy favourabwe, he approved de proposed union, uh-hah-hah-hah.[9] The Duke of York agreed to de marriage, after pressure from chief minister Lord Danby and de King, who incorrectwy assumed dat it wouwd improve James's popuwarity among Protestants.[10] When James towd Mary dat she was to marry her cousin, "she wept aww dat afternoon and aww de fowwowing day".[11]

Wiwwiam and a tearfuw Mary were married in St James's Pawace by Bishop Henry Compton on 4 November 1677.[12] Mary accompanied her husband on a rough sea crossing back to de Nederwands water dat monf, after a deway of two weeks caused by bad weader.[13]Rotterdam was inaccessibwe because of ice, and dey were forced to wand at de smaww viwwage of Ter Heijde, and wawk drough de frosty countryside untiw met by coaches to take dem to Huis Honsewaarsdijk.[14] On 14 December, dey made a formaw entry to The Hague in a grand procession, uh-hah-hah-hah.[15]

Mary's animated and personabwe nature made her popuwar wif de Dutch peopwe, and her marriage to a Protestant prince was popuwar in Britain, uh-hah-hah-hah.[16] She was devoted to her husband, but he was often away on campaigns, which wed to Mary's famiwy supposing him to be cowd and negwectfuw.[17] Widin monds of de marriage Mary was pregnant; however, on a visit to her husband at de fortified city of Breda, she suffered a miscarriage, which may have permanentwy impaired her abiwity to have chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah.[18] She suffered furder bouts of iwwness dat may have been miscarriages in mid-1678, earwy 1679, and earwy 1680.[19] Her chiwdwessness wouwd be de greatest source of unhappiness in her wife.[20]

From May 1684, King Charwes's iwwegitimate son, James Scott, Duke of Monmouf, wived in de Nederwands, where he was fêted by Wiwwiam and Mary. Monmouf was viewed as a rivaw to de Duke of York, and as a potentiaw Protestant heir who couwd suppwant de Duke in de wine of succession, uh-hah-hah-hah. Wiwwiam, however, did not consider him a viabwe awternative and correctwy assumed dat Monmouf had insufficient support.[21]

Mary's fader, James II and VII, was de wast Cadowic monarch in Britain, uh-hah-hah-hah. Portrait by Nicowas de Largiwwière, c 1686.

Upon de deaf of Charwes II widout wegitimate issue in February 1685, de Duke of York became king as James II in Engwand and Irewand and James VII in Scotwand. Mary was pwaying cards when her husband informed her of her fader's accession, and dat she was heir presumptive.[22]

When Charwes's iwwegitimate son de Duke of Monmouf assembwed an invasion force at Amsterdam, and saiwed for Britain, Wiwwiam informed James of de Duke's departure, and ordered Engwish regiments in de Low Countries to return to Britain, uh-hah-hah-hah.[23] To Wiwwiam's rewief, Monmouf was defeated, captured and executed, but bof he and Mary were dismayed by James's subseqwent actions.[24]

James had a controversiaw rewigious powicy; his attempt to grant freedom of rewigion to non-Angwicans by suspending acts of Parwiament by royaw decree was not weww received.[25] Mary considered such action iwwegaw, and her chapwain expressed dis view in a wetter to de Archbishop of Canterbury, Wiwwiam Sancroft, on her behawf.[26] She was furder dismayed when James refused to hewp when de Cadowic King of France, Louis XIV, invaded Orange and persecuted Huguenot refugees dere. In an attempt to damage Wiwwiam, James encouraged his daughter's staff to inform her dat Wiwwiam was having an affair wif Ewizabef Viwwiers. Acting on de information, Mary waited outside Viwwiers's room and caught her husband weaving it wate at night. Wiwwiam denied aduwtery, and Mary apparentwy bewieved and forgave him.[27] Possibwy, Viwwiers and Wiwwiam were not meeting as wovers but to exchange dipwomatic intewwigence.[28] Mary's staff was dismissed and sent back to Britain, uh-hah-hah-hah.[29]

Disgruntwed Protestant powiticians and nobwemen were in contact wif Mary's husband as earwy as 1686.[30] After James took de step of forcing Angwican cwergymen to read de Decwaration of Induwgence—de procwamation granting rewigious wiberty to Cadowics and dissenters—from deir churches in May 1688, his popuwarity pwunged furder.[25] Awarm amongst Protestants increased when his wife, Mary of Modena, gave birf to a son—James Francis Edward—in June 1688, for de son wouwd, unwike Mary and Anne, be raised a Roman Cadowic. Some charged dat de boy was "supposititious", having been secretwy smuggwed into de Queen's room in a bed-warming pan as a substitute for her stiwwborn baby.[31] Seeking information, Mary sent a pointed wist of qwestions to her sister, Anne, regarding de circumstances of de birf. Anne's repwy, and continued gossip, seemed to confirm Mary's suspicions dat de chiwd was not her naturaw broder, and dat her fader was conspiring to secure a Cadowic succession, uh-hah-hah-hah.[32]

On 30 June, de "Immortaw Seven" secretwy reqwested Wiwwiam—den in de Dutch Repubwic wif Mary—to come to Engwand wif an army to depose James.[33] Wiwwiam had made known earwier dat a miwitary intervention, for which he had been assembwing forces, wouwd be conditionaw on such an invitation, uh-hah-hah-hah. At first, Wiwwiam was stiww rewuctant; possibwy he was jeawous of his wife's position as de heiress to de Engwish Crown and feared she wouwd become more powerfuw dan he was. According to Giwbert Burnet, however, Mary convinced her husband dat she did not care for powiticaw power, and towd him "she wouwd be no more but his wife, and dat she wouwd do aww dat way in her power to make him King for wife".[34] She wouwd, she assured him, awways obey her husband as she had promised to do in her marriage vows.[35]

Wiwwiam agreed to invade and issued a decwaration which referred to James's newborn son as de "pretended Prince of Wawes". He awso gave a wist of grievances of de Engwish peopwe and stated dat his proposed expedition was for de sowe purpose of having "a free and wawfuw Parwiament assembwed".[36] Wiwwiam and de Dutch army, widout Mary who stayed behind in de Nederwands, finawwy wanded on 5 November 1688, having been turned back by storms in October.[37] The disaffected Engwish Army and Navy went over to Wiwwiam,[38] and on 11 December de defeated King James attempted to fwee, but was intercepted. A second attempt at fwight, on 23 December, was successfuw; Wiwwiam dewiberatewy awwowed James to escape to France, where he wived in exiwe untiw his deaf.[39]

Mary was upset by de circumstances surrounding de deposition of her fader, and was torn between concern for him and duty to her husband, but was convinced dat her husband's actions, however unpweasant, were necessary to "save de Church and State".[40] When Mary travewwed to Engwand after de New Year, she wrote of her "secret joy" at returning to her homewand, "but dat was soon checked wif de consideration of my fader's misfortunes".[41] Wiwwiam ordered her to appear cheerfuw on deir triumphant arrivaw in London, uh-hah-hah-hah. As a resuwt, she was criticised, by John Evewyn and Sarah Churchiww, for appearing cowd to her fader's pwight.[42] James, too, wrote a diatribe against her criticising her diswoyawty, an action which deepwy affected de pious Mary.[43]

In January 1689, a Convention Parwiament summoned by de Prince of Orange assembwed, and much discussion rewating to de appropriate course of action ensued.[44] A party wed by Lord Danby hewd dat Mary shouwd be sowe monarch, as de rightfuw hereditary heir, whiwe Wiwwiam and his supporters were adamant dat a husband couwd not be subject to his wife.[45] Wiwwiam wished to reign as a king, rader dan function as a mere consort of a qween, uh-hah-hah-hah.[46] For her part, Mary did not wish to be qween regnant, bewieving dat women shouwd defer to deir husbands, and "knowing my heart is not made for a kingdom and my incwination weads me to a retired qwiet wife".[47]

On 13 February 1689, Parwiament passed de Decwaration of Right, in which it deemed dat James, by attempting to fwee on 11 December 1688, had abdicated de government of de reawm, and dat de Throne had dereby become vacant.[48][49] Parwiament offered de Crown not to James's ewdest son, James Francis Edward (who wouwd have been de heir apparent under normaw circumstances), but to Wiwwiam and Mary as joint sovereigns. The onwy precedent for a joint monarchy dated from de sixteenf century: when Queen Mary I married Phiwip of Spain, it was agreed dat de watter wouwd take de titwe of king, but onwy during his wife's wifetime, and restrictions were pwaced on his power. Wiwwiam, however, wouwd be king even after his wife's deaf, and "de sowe and fuww exercise of de regaw power [wouwd be] executed by de said Prince of Orange in de names of de said Prince and Princess during deir joint wives."[48] The decwaration was water extended to excwude not onwy James and his heirs (oder dan Anne) from de drone, but aww Cadowics, since "it haf been found by experience dat it is inconsistent wif de safety and wewfare of dis Protestant kingdom to be governed by a papist prince".[49]

The Bishop of London, Henry Compton, crowned Wiwwiam and Mary togeder at Westminster Abbey on 11 Apriw 1689. Normawwy, de Archbishop of Canterbury performs coronations, but de incumbent Archbishop, Wiwwiam Sancroft, awdough an Angwican, refused to recognise de vawidity of James II's removaw.[50] Neider Wiwwiam nor Mary enjoyed de ceremony; she dought it "aww vanity" and Wiwwiam cawwed it "Popish".[51] On de same day, de Convention of de Estates of Scotwand—which was much more divided dan de Engwish Parwiament—finawwy decwared dat James was no wonger King of Scotwand, dat "no Papist can be King or Queen of dis Reawm", dat Wiwwiam and Mary wouwd be joint sovereigns, and dat Wiwwiam wouwd exercise sowe and fuww power. The fowwowing day, dey were procwaimed king and qween in Edinburgh. They took de Scottish coronation oaf in London on 11 May.[48]

Even after de decwaration, dere was stiww substantiaw support for James in Scotwand. Viscount Dundee raised an army in de Scottish Highwands and won a convincing victory at Kiwwiecrankie on 27 Juwy. The huge wosses suffered by Dundee's troops, however, coupwed wif his fataw wounding at de start of de battwe, served to remove de onwy effective resistance to Wiwwiam and de uprising was qwickwy crushed, suffering a resounding defeat de next monf at de Battwe of Dunkewd.[52][53]

In December 1689, Parwiament passed one of de most important constitutionaw documents in Engwish history, de Biww of Rights. This measure—which restated and confirmed many provisions of de earwier Decwaration of Right—estabwished restrictions on de royaw prerogative; it decwared, among oder dings, dat de Sovereign couwd not suspend waws passed by Parwiament, wevy taxes widout parwiamentary consent, infringe de right to petition, raise a standing army during peacetime widout parwiamentary consent, deny de right to bear arms to Protestant subjects, unduwy interfere wif parwiamentary ewections, punish members of eider House of Parwiament for anyding said during debates, reqwire excessive baiw, or infwict cruew or unusuaw punishments. The Biww of Rights awso confirmed de succession to de drone. Fowwowing de deaf of eider Wiwwiam III or Mary II, de oder was to continue to reign, uh-hah-hah-hah. Next in de wine of succession wouwd be any chiwdren of de coupwe, to be fowwowed by Mary's sister Anne and her chiwdren, uh-hah-hah-hah. Last in de wine of succession stood any chiwdren Wiwwiam III might have had from any subseqwent marriage.[54]

From 1690 onwards, Wiwwiam was often absent from Engwand on campaign, each year generawwy from de spring untiw de autumn, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 1690, he fought Jacobites (who supported James) in Irewand. Wiwwiam had crushed de Irish Jacobites by 1692, but he continued wif campaigns abroad to wage war against France in de Nederwands. Whiwst her husband was away, Mary administered de government of de reawm wif de advice of a nine-member Cabinet Counciw.[55][56] She was not keen to assume power and fewt "deprived of aww dat was dear to me in de person of my husband, weft among dose dat were perfect strangers to me: my sister of a humour so reserved dat I couwd have wittwe comfort from her."[57] Anne had qwarrewwed wif Wiwwiam and Mary over money, and de rewationship between de two sisters had soured.[58]

When her husband was away, Mary acted on her own if his advice was not avaiwabwe; whiwst he was in Engwand, Mary compwetewy refrained from interfering in powiticaw matters, as had been agreed in de Decwaration and Biww of Rights,[48][54] and as she preferred.[59] However, she proved a firm ruwer, ordering de arrest of her own uncwe, Henry Hyde, 2nd Earw of Cwarendon, for pwotting to restore James II to de drone.[60] In January 1692, de infwuentiaw John Churchiww, 1st Earw of Marwborough, was dismissed on simiwar charges; de dismissaw somewhat diminished her popuwarity[34] and furder harmed her rewationship wif her sister Anne (who was strongwy infwuenced by Churchiww's wife, Sarah).[61] Anne appeared at court wif Sarah, obviouswy supporting de disgraced Churchiww, which wed to Mary angriwy demanding dat Anne dismiss Sarah and vacate her wodgings.[62]

Mary feww iww wif a fever in Apriw 1692, and missed Sunday church service for de first time in 12 years.[63] She awso faiwed to visit Anne, who was suffering a difficuwt wabour. After Mary's recovery and de deaf of Anne's baby soon after it was born, Mary did visit her sister, but chose de opportunity to berate Anne for her friendship wif Sarah.[64] The sisters never saw each oder again, uh-hah-hah-hah.[65] Marwborough was arrested and imprisoned, but den reweased after his accuser was reveawed to be an impostor.[66] Mary recorded in her journaw dat de breach between de sisters was a punishment from God for de "irreguwarity" of de Revowution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[67] She was extremewy devout, and attended prayers at weast twice a day.[68]

Mary was taww (5 foot 11 inches; 180 cm) and apparentwy fit; she wouwd reguwarwy wawk between her pawaces at Whitehaww and Kensington.[72] In wate 1694, however, she contracted smawwpox. She sent away anyone who had not previouswy had de disease, to prevent de spread of infection, uh-hah-hah-hah.[73] Anne, who was once again pregnant, sent Mary a wetter saying she wouwd run any risk to see her sister again, but de offer was decwined by Mary's groom of de stowe, de Countess of Derby.[74] Mary died at Kensington Pawace shortwy after midnight on de morning of 28 December, at de young age of 32.[75]

Mary was depicted by Jacobites as an unfaidfuw daughter who destroyed her fader for her own and her husband's gain, uh-hah-hah-hah.[82] In de earwy years of deir reign, she was often seen as compwetewy under de speww of her husband, but after she had temporariwy governed awone during his absences abroad, she was portrayed as capabwe and confident. Nahum Tate's A Present for de Ladies (1692) compared her to Queen Ewizabef I.[83] Her modesty and diffidence were praised in works such as A Diawogue Concerning Women (1691) by Wiwwiam Wawsh, which compared her to Cincinnatus, de Roman generaw who took on a great task when cawwed to do so, but den wiwwingwy abandoned power.[84]

A week before her deaf, Mary went drough her papers, weeding out some which were burnt, but her journaw survives, as do her wetters to Wiwwiam and to Frances Apswey.[85] The Jacobites wambasted her, but de assessment of her character dat came down to posterity was wargewy de vision of Mary as a dutifuw, submissive wife, who assumed power rewuctantwy, exercised it wif considerabwe abiwity when necessary, and wiwwingwy deferred it to her husband.[86]